In 2016, Donald Trump famously quipped that he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody” without losing support. Fast forward to 2024, after two impeachments and 34 felony convictions, and he has arguably proven his point. Not only has he returned to the White House, but he has also hung his mug shot outside the Oval Office, almost as if it were a trophy.
Trump is not alone in this phenomenon. Many politicians find themselves embroiled in scandals, yet they rarely pay the kind of price their predecessors might have faced 20 or 30 years ago. My research, which examines 50 years of political scandals at both state and national levels, alongside national surveys and expert polls, leads to a clear and somewhat unsettling conclusion: In today’s polarized America, scandals hurt less, fade faster, and seldom end political careers.
The New Normal: Scandals with Little Consequence
Consider the cases of New York’s Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey’s Jim McGreevey, both of whom resigned as governors due to sex scandals, only to run again this year for mayoral positions. Both lost. Cuomo aimed to replace New York Mayor Eric Adams, who never stepped down despite being indicted in a corruption case that later saw the charges dropped. Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton survived an impeachment vote in 2023 over bribery and abuse of office and is now running for the U.S. Senate. The list goes on, illustrating that scandal rarely ends a political career.
When Scandals Still Mattered
For much of the past half-century, scandals had a significant impact. The Watergate scandal, involving an administration spying on its political enemies, led to President Richard M. Nixon’s resignation. The Keating Five banking scandal of the 1980s reshaped the Senate, damaging the careers of several prominent senators. Members of Congress referred to the House ethics committee were far less likely to retain their seats. Governors, speakers, and cabinet officials ensnared in scandal routinely resigned. Scandal was understood as a serious breach of public trust, not a potential fundraising opportunity.
However, starting in the late 1990s and accelerating throughout the Trump era, the landscape changed. According to my dataset of over 800 scandals involving presidents, governors, and members of Congress, politicians in recent decades have survived scandals for longer periods and faced fewer consequences.
Partisanship and the New Imperviousness
The primary reason for this shift is partisanship. Today’s voters don’t evaluate scandals as citizens; they evaluate them as fans. Democrats and Republicans seek to punish misdeeds by the other side while rationalizing those committed by their own. This selective morality fuels “affective polarization,” a political science term describing the intense dislike of the opposing party that now defines American politics. A scandal becomes less an ethical event than a tribal cue. If it hurts my enemy, I’m outraged. If it hurts my ally, it’s probably exaggerated, unfair, or just fake.
The nation’s siloed and shrinking media environment accelerates this trend. News consumers gravitate toward outlets that align with their politics, providing a partial view of potential wrongdoing. Local journalism, once the institution most responsible for uncovering wrongdoing, has been gutted. A typical House scandal once generated 70 or more stories in a district’s largest newspaper. Today, it averages around 23.
Evaluating surveys of presidency scholars, I found that economic growth, time in office, war leadership, and perceived intellectual ability all meaningfully shape presidential greatness. Scandals, by comparison, barely move the needle.
At the same time, partisan media ecosystems reinforce voters’ instincts. For many, negative coverage of a fellow partisan is not a warning sign. As with Trump, it can be a badge of honor, proof that the so-called establishment fears their champion.
Restoring Accountability in American Politics
Even when the evidence is clear-cut, the public’s memory isn’t. Voters forget scandals that should matter but vividly remember those that fit their partisan worldview, even when memory contradicts fact. Years after Trump left office, more Republicans believed his false claims about the 2020 election, COVID-19 cures, and the January 6 Capitol riot than during his presidency. The longer a scandal drags on, the foggier the details become, making it easier for partisans to reshape the narrative.
The issue isn’t that America has too many scandals. It’s that the consequences no longer match the misdeeds. However, the story isn’t hopeless. Scandals still matter under certain conditions, particularly when they involve clear abuses of power or financial corruption and when voters learn credible details. Political scientists have long known that scandals can produce real benefits: exposing wrongdoing, prompting reforms, sharpening voter attention, and reminding citizens that institutions need scrutiny.
So, what would it take to Make Scandals Great Again, not as spectacle but as accountability? One step would be to rebuild the watchdogs. Local journalism could use investment, including through nonprofit models and philanthropy. Additionally, ethics enforcement must maintain independence from the political actors it polices. Allowing lawmakers to investigate themselves guarantees selective outrage. Political parties could also play a role in restoring trust by calling out their own members, increasing accountability by addressing real offenses among their ranks.
Political scandals will never disappear from American life. But for them to serve as silver linings—and, ultimately, to protect public trust—the conditions that give them meaning require restoration. This could foster a political culture where wrongdoing still carries a price and where truth can pierce through the noise long enough for the public to hear it.
